Listen To An Ex-poacher:

Hunting

Bear Hunters Need A `Chase Only' Season So They Can Train Hounds

It's common practice among some hunters in the Blue Ridge mountains to pretend they're after raccoon or fox when the game warden suddenly catches them chasing bear out of season.

Though I certainly do not condone lying, no more than I do breaking our game laws intentionally, it's easy to see why bear hunters take the risk.

They have as much invested in their sport as the raccoon hunter or fox hunter, yet less than one-quarter of the time to enjoy it.

Last year, for example, the legal bear season was from November 28 to January 7. Only 27 counties along the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Dismal Swamp section of Suffolk have a bear season each fall. The remainder of the state is

closed.

Except for five counties and the City of Newport News you can hunt fox year round in Virginia. You can chase raccoons from Aug. 1 through March 31.

According to a former bear poacher living near the Shenandoah National Park, a man who admitted to treeing some 30 to 40 bears a year regardless of the season, this is the major complaint.

"We ain't talking about killing the animals. I'd say 99 percent of the bear hunters I know want only a little more time to chase only, so they can train dogs," the ex-poacher said.

Col. Gerald Simmons, chief of law enforcement with the Game Department said this isn't the first time bear hunters have asked for a "chase only" season and the Department's reply remains the same.

"A longer chase season puts too much pressure on the bear," he said.

The ex-poacher said hogwash.

"I've chased bears night and day for days on end," he said, "and they're pretty rugged animals. They're smart animals. Once they learn to duck through the thickets and cut over the mountains, they're even smarter, and they can run at a steady pace until your hounds drop over."

Simmons said too many hunters would take advantage of a longer season to kill more bear.

"Not if you stuck the violators with a heavy fine and jail time," the ex-poacher said.

The ex-poacher also said that the number of hounds used to chase bears is a bigger threat than a longer chase season.

"I'd say 75 percent of the bears killed on Massanutten Mountain last year were killed after they had been cornered, or run up a tree, by a pack of 25 to 30 hounds," he said. "They turn 'em loose in relays."

"They ought to catch one dog and put it in the truck or on a leash everytime they turn one loose."

According to the poacher, no more than four or five hounds at one time should be allowed to chase a bear.

"There's so many other things the Game Department could do to help the bear hunter, and that in turn would cut down on poaching," he said.

One is to stop deer season from over-lapping bear season. Another is to require out-of-state hunters to hunt with a registered guide. Another is to raise the minimum legal weight requirement from 100 pounds live weight to 125 pounds.

"I'm telling you things the bear hunter is mad about," the former poacher said.

The Game Department, meanwhile, has plans to outlaw "strike boxes," which are dog boxes placed on the front of the vehicle instead of the back. The best scenting dog in the pack is placed in the box and the vehicle is then driven slowly along the backroads until the dog picks up a scent.

The Game Department also plans to ask the General Assembly to make it a felony to sell $200 in bear parts during a 90-day period.

The former poacher had little to say about selling bear parts, because those who do it are going to do it regardless of the consequences.

"But trying to outlaw those strike boxes is a waste of time," he said around a grin. "It don't matter whether that box is on the front of the truck or the back, a good dog is going to pick up the scent.

"The thing you can't seem to get through your heads down there in Richmond," he said, "is these boys are going to do it anyway. They know and I know that chasing only isn't going to do all that much harm, if you follow a few simple rules, like limiting the number of hounds and dishing out stiff fines for

violators.

"I'm willing to meet with these directors, if they keep my name and picture out of the paper," he said, "and if they think I don't know anything about bears, I'll show them a thing or two about that, too."